Al Qaeda has already named Abdallah Bin Rashid al Baghdadi, head of its shura council in Iraq, as Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s successor

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources reveal Western intelligence agencies dealing with terrorists in the region know nothing about the new man. Al Qaeda has already vowed to fight on after Zarqawi’s death in a statement on its web site.

DEBKAfile discloses: Zarqawi’s death leaves Wariya Arbili as the most senior al Qaeda player in Iraq. He is chief of al Qaeda’s second largest affiliate in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunna, an organization which controls large tracts of the country - especially in parts of Kurdistan - with a foothold in Kirkuk and Mosul as well as Tal Afar to the north and sections of the Sunni triangle.

Earlier, DEBKAfile disclosed: Zarqawi’s death leaves Wariya Arbili as the most senior al Qaeda player in Iraq. He is chief of al Qaeda’s second largest affiliate in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunna, an organization which controls large tracts of the country - especially in parts of Kurdistan - with a foothold in Kirkuk and Mosul as well as Tal Afar to the north and sections of the Sunni triangle.

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources reveal that a quarrel which flared recently between Arbili and Zarqawi led to Osama bin Laden naming a new worldwide operations chief with authority over both. He is an Iraqi from the north, known only by his nom de guerre, Abdulhadi al-Iraqi, and he replaces Abu Farj al-Libi who was captured by Pakistani forces.

Bin Laden’s choice of an indigenous Iraqi ops chief pointed to the high importance the al Qaeda leader attaches to the Iraq warfront for the future of his organization. Abdulhadi now faces the urgent task of bringing order to al Qaeda’s ranks, which are packed with foreign adherents, and Iraqi affiliates to avert a bloody power struggle among commanders.